Labyrinth of roof tops at the back of Bryggen, the hanseatic settlement in Bergen, Norway.

From the late Middle Ages, the German traders of the hanseatic league settled in an enclave along the eastern shoreline of Vaagen, the inner harbour of Bergen. The main trade was stockfish (dried fish) and fish oil from Northern Norway against cereals from mainland Europe.

Imagine the two thousand male unmarried German traders living here amongst their stock of stockfish and fish oil in this enclosed settlement... No mingling with the Norwegian population was (officially) allowed, this included contact with women. As the area of the settlement was limited, all available space was valuable, resulting in this labyrinth of wooden houses.

The current buildings date back from 1702, when a major fire almost completely ruined the city of Bergen. The site was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1979.

Runner Up (2nd prize) for Getty Images "Real Scandinavia competition" http://realscandinavia.gettyimages.com/.

Gold medal color print at Norwegian national competition - Spring 2011. http://www.nsff.no/cms/index.php?page=sok-landskonkurranser&konk_direkte=417

Read how this photo came about in the tutorials section: http://1x.com/tutorials/27347/never-mind-the-neighbours

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